Celebrations
by Rjalker
Summary: The 12th Doctor and his alien companion Jessana go on adventure that is less with the running for their lives, and more of the having fun sort of adventure. (All OCs)


**Find My Way Home**

**Created on 4/15/13, 12:42**

**My Portal Day Celebration story :)**

Nofosi-risur 5.21.13 2:25

The Doctor wasn't sure how exactly she'd figured it out. Maybe it was because she herself wasn't human. She didn't always assume…

He shook his head. No. It didn't matter. It wasn't even important. So what if she'd figured it out? There wasn't anything anyone could do to change it.

Sensing her eyes on him, the Doctor looked up from the console where he'd just accessed the locked coordinates, hid the pain in his eyes with a smile, and said cheerfully, "Well! Shall we get going then?"

He knew she wasn't fooled, but she smiled anyways, then lunged forward to grab onto the railing with both hands as the shaking and the familiar whooshing-thrum of the TARDIS dematerializing started. He himself simply let one of the more violent crashes knock him off his feet and onto his back, a bubble of bittersweet laughter almost escaping him as he remembered traveling with Rose, oh, so many lifetimes ago.

So many companions had passed through the TARDIS doors since he'd seen her, but none of them, not even the almost surrogate parents he'd adopted in his last face, invoked the same grief that she did when he remembered them.

Staring up at the vaulted ceiling hanging with gold vines of twinkling silver leaves, he was suddenly thrown back to another time, another TARDIS, and another face.

Everything had seemed so dark. His planet was gone. His very people wiped from existence. All by his hand.

The TARDIS had crashed down on earth, the windows shattering, tossing his already beaten body across the floor. He must have hit his head because the next thing he knew, he'd woken up with a new face. He couldn't remember regenerating.

He didn't really remember much of what happened after that. It was all a haze in his mind, simple flashes of insight that disappeared a moment after appearing, like sparkflies being chased on a dark summer's night. At some point he must have changed clothes. He must have wandered the streets for hours, because he was sure that it hadn't been dark when he'd first gotten there.

The sudden sound of something hitting the exterior of the TARDIS jolted him back to the present, and he suddenly found himself staring up into the face of his companion. He suddenly realized that he was still lying on the floor of the TARDIS, and gave a sheepish smile. She asked for no explanation, and instead offered a hand to help him up.

"Thanks." He said, clasping her hand in his and letting her pull him to his feet.

"No problem," She said, glancing at the coordinates on the screen, then looked toward the TARDIS doors, where the strange sound still issued. "Where did you take us?" She asked, spinning around to face him with an excited grin on her face.

Her enthusiasm quickly washed away whatever sadness still remained in his hearts, and a true smile of excitement broke out across his features. "Oh ho," He said, clapping his hands together and spinning around in a quick twirl, unable to contain his energy, "Just you wait and see!" And with that, he leapt across the console room in four long strides and opened the doors of the time machine with a dramatic sweep of his arms.

Immediately, the sound that he'd first heard intensified, and he grinned at the sight that met him.

"Naani-Ka!" A small voice cried, and he quickly caught the small form that had launched itself at him, laughing.

"Droselian!" He cried, giving the little boy a tight squeeze before holding him at arm's length to look at him. He gave a dramatic gasp and exclaimed, "Look how much you've grown!"

The boy giggled, then his eyes widened as he caught sight of the Doctor's companion where he could sense her standing behind him, radiating surprise and joy through their faint mental link. Grinning widely, the Doctor lifted the little boy in his arms and let him leap out of them toward his companion.

"Jessana-Ji!" The little boy shouted, wrapping his small arms around her neck and smiling up at her, the small dots that ran up his arms glowing bright blue against his honey-gold skin that perfectly matched that of the Doctor's companion.

With a wide grin, his companion leaned down to touch her forehead against that of the little boy in her arms. "Little brother!" She exclaimed, hugging him and giving him a quick kiss on the forehead that made him giggle madly, "Oh, I've missed you!"

Grinning widely, Droselian jumped out of his sister's embrace. "Close your eyes and follow me!" He exclaimed, tugging at her hand. Looking amused, she closed her eyes and let herself be pulled along.

The Doctor momentarily felt a pang of loneliness strike his hearts as he remembered his lost family, but it was immediately overshadowed by the comforting telepathic sense of another's emotions that brushed his mind when Droselian grabbed his hand and commanded him to close his eyes as well.

They weren't the same species, so it wasn't the same, but their thoughts swirled just at the edges of his own, Droselian's the strongest since they were touching, and it was like they'd slipped their hands into his just as surely as they really _were_ holding hands.

Droselian pulled them on, and the ground beneath them turned from grass to concrete, and the distant sound of music that he'd barely been able to hear before swelled, revealing the sound of drums and flutes and other instruments playing out an energetically cheery tune that was audible over the collective voice of a celebrating crowd.

Eyes still closed, they were pulled into a small building. Droselian released their hands and commanded, "Wait here! And no cheating!" Before he ran off outside, his bare feet slapping against the sidewalk.

Not sensing anyone else beside his companion nearby, the Doctor craftily opened one eye only just enough that he could see where they were—a small partially enclosed pavilion—and to check that Jessana still had hers closed, before he shut his eye again, smiling to himself.

They didn't have to wait long before Droselian came back, this time with a few of his friends from the various footsteps and giggles they could hear, grabbed their hands again, and pulled them off once more, assuring Jessana that they were almost there. Of course, she didn't know where _there_ was, since it was a surprise for her, but the Doctor definitely wasn't telling, even when she sent him a question through their faint connection.

The music was still growing louder, and soon they could feel the sharp thrumming of the drums in their feet as they drew closer. He was almost able to make out the words that went along with it when one of the kids following them suddenly grabbed his free hand, and sent a request through the contact before letting go. The Doctor smiled again, and momentarily released Droselian's hand, opened his eyes, and couched down to let the girl clamber up onto his back so that when he stood up, she was riding on his shoulders.

"What's your name?" He asked, lifting his eyes so that he could see her and letting Jessana's little brother recapture his hand.

"Marcet Silesova!" She replied, giggling and leaning forward so that she could use the top of his head as an armrest as she set her chin in her hands so that she could look around from her new vantage point with glee, "My friends call me Marmar! You can call me Marmar if you want!"

"Alright then, Marmar," He said, laughing as he saw that his companion also had a child riding on her shoulders, and that said child had put his hands over her ears so that she couldn't hear the music, "My name's the Doctor, but my friends call me Naani. You can call me Naani if you want to." There was a smile in his voice, and he heard Marcet giggle at his mimicking her.

Since he was now allowed to have his eyes open and they were starting to move into the crowd, Droselian dropped his hand and continued guiding his sister, who wasn't yet allowed to look. The gaggle of children they'd attracted quickly spread out through the crowd, shushing people and giggling and grabbing people's hands to tell them the secret that their friend had planned.

People looked at each other, smiled, and made sure to keep out of the way of little boy who was dragging his sister behind him. Conspiritial whispers started up as the Doctor looked around him at the sea of smiles that were set against golden or dark brown skin, and he grinned as one woman tossed him an intricate silver-wired halo strung with long blue ribbons. He held it up to Marcet—who was already wearing one—and she helpfully put it on his head for him so that the ribbons streamed down his back.

They finally reached the front of the crowd where a stage was set up that the band was playing on, and the child that had been sitting on his companion's shoulders quickly jumped down. Droselian waved at his friends, then ran off, still leading his sister by the hand.

The Doctor stayed here he was, and even as the two disappeared into the crowd again, he could see the brilliant smile that had lit up his friend's face. She could hear the music now, so there was no doubt she had realized what was going on and where and _when_ exactly the Doctor had taken her.

He grinned. She'd probably forgotten completely. He knew time was hard to keep track of for his companions when they were in the TARDIS with him, but he was a _Time Lord_. He _always_ knew what time it was.

Slowly, the band let the flow of music come to an end. The drums faded, the flutes died off, and a moment of silence hung in the air before the crowd burst into applause.

The band members moved to the lip of the stage, joined hands, and bowed as one before they lifted their instruments, all carved from wood and hand-made, and, following tradition, tossed them to the crowd before stepping back so that the big white curtain fell down in front of them.

Children rushed forward, all giggles and shouts, trying to catch the light flutes and one-handed drums before they could hit the ground. Marcet almost leapt clean off his shoulders, and managed to catch one of the flutes out of the air. The Doctor caught one of the drums when it practically fell into his arms, and, grinning, offered it to a little boy who stood only up to about his waist that had been trying unsuccessfully to catch one of the falling instruments.

The boy took it, looking up at him with wide, awed eyes.

"Thank you, thank you, Ka've!" He said, almost jumping up and down in his excitement. He grabbed the Doctor's hand to further express his gratitude, and then ran off, whooping loudly as he joined a group of his friends who cheered for him when he showed them the drum.

"Naani! Naani!" Marcet tugged on his hair to get his attention, then leaned forward to hold the flue she'd caught infront of his eyes, pointing excitedly to the symbol that had been carved into the one end, "Do you know what this means?"

"What does it mean?" He asked, lifting his eyes to her grinning face without even looking at the symbol. She obviously wanted to be the one to say it.

"It says Cayri!" She cried, "Cayri made this! This is Cayri's flute! That means he's going to teach me how to play so I take his place in the band on the Ground Day festival! This is going to be so awesome!"

His eyes widened. Had he heard her right? "Cayri? You mean Cayri Tysaal?" He asked, just to make sure.

Marcet grinned widely, "Yep! That's him!" She said, then gasped as the curtain on the stage started to move. "Shhh!" She shushed him loudly, though he wasn't even talking, and completely missing the awed expression on his face as she folded her arms over his head and used them as a pillow as she stared with wide eyes at the stage as the curtain was pulled to the sides, revealing a crowd of grinning young men and women all dressed in green and blue tunics. Jessana was among them.

An old woman whose age was marked by her white braided hair stood at the front of the stage, leaning on a bleached walking stick and wearing a deep red robe that covered her hands and whose hood was thrown over her shoulders. She waited, head bowed over her staff, for the crowd to fall silent. She didn't have to wait long.

Waiting a few moments more, she lifted the staff above her head, then brought it back down so that the butt of it collided with the wooden floor of the stage with a sharp _crack!_

The crowd watched in awe as, where the staff had landed, grass and flowers began to bloom up from the bare wood of the stage as though grown by magic. A vine wound its way up the staff, following the path created by the ancient carvings that decorated it, and when it reached halfway up, the old woman lifted her hands away from it and the staff stood on its own. The vine continued to climb, blooming flowers every few seconds, until the entire thing was a rainbow of color.

Stepped backward and making a sweeping gesture of the young men and women behind her, the old woman said, her voice carrying to the back of the crowd, "This world has been carved and shaped and grown to our like, and yet always it offers more. Things we need. Things we don't need, yet want. Things of darkness, and things of light. Today is the 22nd of Prothkai. This day has many names, though most know it best as Sky Day, for it is the day we celebrate all things bright and clear. It is also the day we celebrate the coming of age of those born during the First Season of the year." She turned her back to the crowd for a moment, in favor of facing the group that she stared the stage with.

"Today is the day you become adults in the eyes of your peers and those of the very universe itself. The bond you share with your birth-mates will strengthen until you will be able to hear eachother even if you be on opposite sides of the City. From this day forward, your names will be Dulfraal, and you will be honored as the 50th generation of Skies born since Caenli's defeat of the Daklarahkor."

She turned back to the expectant crowd, "And now," She said, "Please, good citizens of the city of Vorifther, join me in welcoming our newest generation of Skies into adulthood."

She bowed, then moved off of the stage, and the crowd burst into cheering and applause. One by one, the Skies moved forward and chose one of the flowers that had bloomed on the staff that still stood there, and put them in the wire-haloes they all wore so that the flower rested in the middle of their forehead, before exiting the stage to join their friends and family.

"Do you have any brothers or sisters, Marcet?" The Doctor asked, curious, as a boy that looked a bit like her moved forward to claim one of the flowers.

"Yes," The little girl answered, still using his head as a pillow, "But they're younger than me, and both Grounds." At the obviousness of his next question, she added, "I'm a Shadow. Cool, huh? But that up there's my cousin, Torven. He's really nice." She sat up, "Oh, hey, look! Here come Jessana and Droselian!"

Not even moments after she'd uttered the words, and before the Doctor even had time to turn to look, his companion slammed into him in an enthusiastic hug. Laughing, still clutching the flute she had caught in one hand, Marcet jumped off his shoulders and landed nimbly on her feet. She grabbed Droselian's hand, and they ran off together, giggling and shouting as they darted through the bustling crowd with the ease that only children can know.

"Oh, Doctor!" Jessana said, still hugging him, "Thank you, thank you! I never would have thought—I hadn't even imagined—all this time—how did you know?" Her voice was joyous, and she was starting to babble in the way that they both seemed to share when they were excited. She held him at arm's length, grinning widely, her crimson and amber eyes dancing with happiness.

He matched her smile, "Jessana Dulfraal of the 50th Sky of Xeyvokiir," he said, the comforting weight of her mind erasing the smallest bit of remembered pain he almost felt when he said her name, "I wouldn't miss this for the world."

Looping his arm through hers, they started off through the crowd, not really heading in any certain direction at all. They smiled when rambunctious children ran past them, screaming battle-cries and brandishing imaginary weapons as they took turns chasing eachother, and once the Doctor and his companion were even drawn into a huge game of tag that had been set up by Jessana's birth-mates, and for the longest time all they did was dodge through the crowd like overgrown children, laughing and shouting in exhilaration as, for once, they ran, not for their lives, but for the fun of it.

They met up with Jessana's little brother a few more times, and the three of them played the games that had been set up, trying to see who could keep a ball balanced on their heads the longest as a small crowd either booed or cheered them on, racing back through an obstacle course, and many others, until finally, the green sky above them slowly began to fade into darker hues, the clouds lit up from beneath in radiant streaks of yellow and pink, as the sun started to set in the far off distance.

Droselian, sensing that they would be leaving soon, gave them both a hug and made them promise that they would bring him a present next time they visited before he ran off once more with his friends.

"Well," The Doctor said, his hands in his pockets and the beribboned halo still in his bright red hair as they walked down the dirt path that would take them back to the TARDIS, the sky growing darker by the moment and a delightfully warm breeze carrying with it the distant sounds of the festival still going on as it danced past them, their feet crunching gently on the dried plant pods that littered the ground that had been shed from the new trees had sprouted off to the sides of the path, "I dare say that was the best fun I've had in a while." He grinned over at her as they stopped infront of the familiar blue doors of the TARDIS.

He went to grab the handle, but Jessana held a hand up, asking him to wait. He dropped his hand back to his side and crossed his arms and watched with interest as she raised her hand, her brow furrowed in concentration as though she were trying to solve a difficult problem, and snapped her fingers.

With a click and a gentle squeak, the TARDIS doors opened, and the ship greeted them with a welcoming hum.

A wide grin on her face, Jessana ran forward into the TARDIS, practically dancing as she ran to the console and smiled up at the center. "Thank you!" She called, then spun around to dart to the Doctor's side where he stood at his usual place on the other side of the circular control panel, his hands already adjusting knobs and pulling leavers.

"I'm just going to park us somewhere out among the stars," He said, smiling, "The TARDIS can drift wherever she pleases and we can both get some sleep." He laughed, thinking that the rest of Jessana's birth-mates would probably get little sleep that night. The celebration usually went on into the middle of the day after, and no moment of it was lost.

After the usual crashing and shaking that would make you think the ship was going to explode, the TARDIS was set adrift deep in the calm depths of space where they would have peace while they slept. They moved down the long hall that led to their rooms, and they each paused before their respective doors.

"Goodnight, Jessana." He said, lifting his hand in a little wave as he opened his door.

"Goodnight, Doctor." She stepped through into her room, then paused, her hand on the frame, and, looking over her shoulder with one last smile, she said, "And happy Sky Day."

Then she closed her door, leaving him alone in the corridor, "Yeah," he said with a soft smile as he thought of all the other names that belonged to the holiday that was celebrated on that day, "Happy Dawning Day.

**Finished on 5/22/13, 11:57PM**

**Happy May 22****nd****, everyone :) **


End file.
